


The Sentinel Duty Series #2: Simon's Stint

by JudyL



Series: My Sentinel Universe [10]
Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 14:49:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16536677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JudyL/pseuds/JudyL
Summary: This is a series of stories that take place while Blair is at the Academy.Simon takes the first shift with Jim. Originally posted 9-25-03.





	The Sentinel Duty Series #2: Simon's Stint

Sometimes I just have to wonder what I did to deserve this. I never asked to have a detective under my command with hyperactive senses. I never wanted to have to partner him with a neo-hippie anthropologist.

I didn't have to take a turn at Guiding the Sentinel.

But I did ask that anthropologist to go to the police academy.

So I guess I owe it to Sandburg and Ellison to help out until Jim can have his real Guide back. God, I hope Sandburg passes everything.

Thank goodness I only have a few more days, then I can pass the duty on to someone else. There's no way the rest of the week can be as bad as the first part. Right?

Ah, who am I kidding? This is Jim Ellison we're talking about. The only one that gets into trouble faster than him is his soon-to-be partner Blair Sandburg.

'Course to understand what I'm talking about you need a little background. See, Blair started his classes at the police academy at the beginning of the week. Prior to this he gave those of us that are privy to the little Sentinel secret an instruction book. It contained helpful hints on keeping Ellison functioning as a Sentinel.

Well, I read it and all it did was make me even more nervous about taking my turn as his temporary Guide. I mean how does Sandburg deal with this all the time! From the stuff he put in that notebook, Ellison could keel over dead on me just looking at something he's allergic to.

I really did not need the book… No, sir. I much prefer to be blissfully ignorant.

Hmph! Like anyone would believe that! I don't even believe it any more. That's what the kid's done to me. Turned me to mush. Only Sandburg could break down the Great Wall of Ellison and then burrow straight through my meager defenses.

Anyway, as I was saying, the kid went to the academy and I took the first turn at Ellison duty. Rank hath its privileges. Jim's temper will only get shorter the longer he's separated from Sandburg, so I'll take the easier end. Right.

The first day wasn't so bad. We stopped an armed robbery in progress. Jim heard the silent alarm go off as we passed the store.

How do you hear a silent alarm, you might ask? Well, I did, and was sorry I asked. I suddenly felt like I was baby-sitting Sandburg instead of Jim. I swear he didn't shut up for thirty minutes. Fortunately our next case fell into our laps and he got distracted.

A souped-up mustang cornered onto the street right in front of us doing about sixty. Jim hit the lights and took off after it while I called it in. Turns out the guys in the mustang had just stolen it. Did I say something about attracting trouble? Yeah.

Fortunately, that was all the excitement for the morning. We were able to fill out a few reports and have lunch before heading to interview some people for the Rogers case.

Jim had been working this case for the last two weeks. Rogers was suspected of hiring an arsonist to get rid of his competition. Arson had asked for some help and I assigned Ellison. Rogers seemed to be very good at covering his tracks. He still had Jim running around looking for clues. We had a couple of leads to check out, but weren't hopeful.

The first interview was a dud. No new information.

At the second stop, Jim froze into that "I've got something" pose that means his senses are working. I hurried over to him and grabbed his arm as Blair had instructed to help ground the Sentinel.

"I smell smoke, Simon," Jim said racing off toward the building.

Crap! "Jim, wait," I cried. I'm pretty sure this Sentinel hearing is selective. He didn’t even slow down.

So there we were both running toward a building owned by one of Roger's competitors when smoke started to poor from the windows. I yanked out my cell phone and called it in even as Ellison entered the building.

Ten minutes later it was all over. Jim had pulled two people out of the burning building, a guard and a maintenance guy and I had avoided a heart attack. Barely. What am I supposed to tell Sandburg if his partner gets himself killed?

We did manage to get a break on the case however. The owner, Mr. Jacobs, finally showed up and told us this building had security cameras monitored by an outside firm. We were able to identify the arsonist on the tape and put out an APB. He's currently rotting in a holding cell while we track down his boss.

Anyway, back to Ellison. I'm going to have to give Sandburg a raise. I just don't know how he keeps up with this man. By five Monday evening I'd already chewed through a half dozen of my best stogies and hadn't even been able to light a one.

****

Tuesday I entered the bullpen in a pretty good frame of mind. I'd decided to keep Ellison chained to his desk for the day. With three different incidents to write up from Monday, and a backlog of other cases, I figured he'd stay busy and out of trouble.

About ten, he asked to borrow my computer to access some special files for one of the cases. I agreed and headed out to find a danish.

I came back to find Jim zoned at my computer. Blank eyes staring straight ahead, slack jawed, yep, zoned. I went around behind him to see what might have caused the problem and groaned.

Someone had been messing with my screen saver. Again. I thought it was Sandburg, but evidently it was someone else. Instead of my nice quiet fishy screen saver with the serene lake, the occasional trout jumping out of the water and its dragonflies and ducks flying by, I see a maze of foot prints all over the screen.

Two sets actually, and then a short squat, brightly dressed clown runs across the screen chased closely by a Keystone cop. The clown honks his nose and the cop blows his whistle as they chase across the screen.

Okay… so the zone is probably visual. I turned off the monitor and put my hand on Jim's shoulder. I repeated the mantra I've heard Sandburg use so many times as I gently shook my detective. According to my clock almost four minutes passed before he started to come out of the zone.

"Simon?" Jim said with that soft confused tone he always has coming out of a zone.

I just patted him on the shoulder as I explained what happened hoping he was still too out of it to hear how hard my heart was pounding. How does Sandburg do it? It wasn't even lunch time yet. So much for it being safe in the office.

Jim and I discussed the cases he's working on and I chase him back to his own desk and call tech support. There has got to be some way to keep people from messing with my computer!

Surprisingly we manage to make it through the rest of the day without any trouble, well, unless you count recapturing an escaped prisoner. The guy made a break for it as Jim and I were heading out to lunch. He never had a chance. He'd knocked the officer holding him down and taken off down the hall only to run right into Jim as he came around the corner.

Of course, Jim had heard him coming and simply stepped to one side and tripped the guy. Poor slob had no idea what hit him.

******

Wednesday I thought I might catch a break. Jim had to be in court and would probably be tied up there all day. I still went with him, realizing now how easily his senses could be overwhelmed.

I've never really thought of Jim Ellison as being vulnerable. Oh, it's not so bad as all that, but he has almost as many disadvantages with those senses as he does advantages.

Except maybe one. Blair. He's definitely an advantage. Just don't tell him I said that.

But I have to admit, with Sandburg around Jim really is a force to be reckoned with. Somehow the two of them together balance out all their individual faults. As a team they are almost unbeatable. I guess that's really what the whole Sentinel/Guide thing is really about. It's taken me four years and almost losing one of them to realize how much the two of them need each other.

Separately, Ellison and Sandburg are remarkable men. Together they are extraordinary. And they're on my team.

I just have to make it through Sandburg's time at the Academy and everything will go back to normal. Or at least what passes for normal in my world.

Where was I? Oh, yeah, yesterday, Wednesday, court… We sat in the courtroom waiting for Jim's case to come up. Several hours passed and we were both beginning to wonder if the case would even be called before the end of the day.

Jim stood to stretch during a brief break and I considered running down to the cafeteria for a soda when it happened again. I swear I need to get the man some earplugs. Ellison tuned into something going on in the judge's chambers.

It seemed someone wasn't happy with the way the judge had ruled on a case and wanted a new ruling. They weren't asking nicely.

We notified the bailiff of the problem and went into the hall to the main entrance for the judge's chamber. Jim listened, pinpointing the location of the people inside and whispered the information to me. On three we burst into the room, surprising the assailant, and managed to subdue him without firing a shot.

The judge was grateful and shaken, so of course the rest of the cases were postponed. I dropped Jim off at the loft and told him to call it a day. I was exhausted.

****

So, now it's Thursday and I have no idea how I'll manage to make it through to Friday. Heaven forbid something should come up and we have to work the weekend!

Rhonda gives me a sympathetic look as I trudge past her desk into my office. The coffeepot is perking and I turn to smile at her through the window. Thank God for Rhonda. That first sip soothes my nerves and a bit of Sandburg's optimism seeps through.

Something good will come out of this self-imposed Sentinel duty. With everyone taking a turn with Ellison, my regular detective pairs will be left short, so I've decided to ride with the partner of the detective assigned to Jim. Henri and Brian have a great partnership and Joel and Megan are getting there. Joel's experience and wisdom balance out the Aussie enthusiasm.

I'll get a chance to work with each of my people, a chance to reconnect on a level that just isn't possible while I sit behind the captain's desk. And they'll get a chance to appreciate their own partnerships. What's the saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

I turn my head toward the bullpen expecting something. I'm not sure what until I see Ellison stroll through the door. A shiver runs down my back. How did I know he was coming? No. I don't want to know. I really don't.

God I can't wait until Sandburg gets back.

Finis


End file.
